Norton opens units as it begins to transform hospital

Norton Suburban Hospital today officially opens a new neonatal intensive care unit and a Norton Cancer Institute unit -- the latest phase in construction to transform the hospital into a facility focusing on women and children.

The two units are located in the east tower, which also houses the emergency department and the ante partum (before birth) unit.

The new 40-bed NICU is on the fourth floor and features private spaces, lighting designed with premature and medically-fragile infants in mind, colorful paint and what officials call a "family-focused environment." The current NICU is spread over three units on two floors and does not offer private space.

The fifth floor of the east tower houses the Norton Cancer Institute unit and several rooms for migraine patients and gynecological surgery patients. The cancer institute unit is for men and women being treated with high-dose chemotherapy. Patients can also get aromatherapy, massage, Reiki, music therapy and pastoral care. There is also a central outdoor garden for meditation, an exercise room and a path around the unit that goes through a solarium overlooking the garden. The private rooms are equipped with the "GetWell Network," which offers education on diseases and treatment.

Hospital officials said patients will move into these spaces during the first week in June.

Officials first announced plans to transform the hospital in 2011. The $89.7 million project calls for expanding services for women and children, while preserving men's care, at the hospital on 4001 Dutchmans Lane, which will be called Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital.

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